Portable stages have come into widespread use in schools, hotels, convention centers, and other institutions having multiple use facilities, where it is sometimes necessary to set up a stage for use in a display or performance. In the case of a trade show or the like, a stage or a number of stages may be set up for displaying items for view by persons in attendance. In the case of a performance, such as a musical performance, the performers are positioned on an elevated stage so the audience can see and hear them. One example of a portable stage for this type of application is the elevationally adjustable folding stage shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,096, to Wilson et al. The stage of that patent may be adjusted to the desired height and a number of such stage sections can be positioned adjacent each other and interconnected to form an extended stage area.
It is sometimes desirable or even necessary to ensure physical separation of the audience from the stage. The primary example of situations in which this separation is necessary involves performances by popular musical performers, where there has sometimes been a tendency on the part of an enthusiastic and youthful audience to reach up onto the stage or even try to climb up onto the stage. To maintain this separation, it has been necessary to station guards or ushers on the floor in front of the stage, but in the case of particularly enthusiastic audiences, they may not be able to control the audience and keep them from the stage.
In addition, there are other situations in which it is desirable to keep the audience separated from the stage. For example in the case of a display of expensive, delicate or potentially dangerous equipment, it may be necessary to keep the viewers at more than arm's length from the stage.
In order to maintain audience separation from the stage, there is a need for an audience control barrier that can be used with stages, particularly portable stages. To be fully effective at filling the needs outlined above, the barrier should be strong and secure enough to withstand considerable pressure from an audience, and ideally it should be flexible enough in its design to be readily adapted to different heights, widths and configurations of stages. It should also be modular for ease in setup and takedown for storage, and means should be provided for quickly but securely fastening the barrier to the stage.